Educational block



y 1943. E. L. NELSON 2,320,292

EDUCATIONAL BLOCK Filed June 27, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet l May 25, 1943. E. L. NELSON 2,320,292

I EDUCATIONAL BLOCK IMWM II/A May 25, 1943.

E. L. NELSON EDUCATIONAL BLOCK,

. am 3 MN mfim a u m w w w MH .w fl Z 1 VI 3% ME I F. 7/04 u W I Patented May 25, 1943 2 UNIT ED STAT ES PAT EN T O F FIC E EDUCATIONAL BLOCK Evan L. Nelson, Austin, Minn.

Application June 27, 1940, Serial No. 342,698

1 Claim.

This invention relatesgto-a set of building blocks and particularly to that type wherein a plurality of blocks can be interconnected to form a comparatively stable building structure.

It is an object of my invention to providea set of building blocks which are simple information yet which can be connected together with a certain degree of permanence and which'present a high degree of flexibilityto permit the erection of numerous types of building structures and shapes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a set of blocks of nearly uniform overall sizeand shape as a basic block design which in combination with a few simple accessories will permit a child to use his powers of imagination and creation and construct a wide variety of formations with the same basic principles.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for tying together a multiplicity of blocks in such a way that a relatively rigid structure can be produced so that the child can make permanent or semi-permanent toys for his amusement and education. Still a further object of invention is to provide an. assembly of blocks and tying members such as, dowel pins in combination with elements which can. be connected together to provide a base or which can be separately used as independent building elements to permit variation of the appearance of different r formations of the main block units.

These and other objeotsand advantages. of the invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the views, and, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view partially broken away of a structure formed from the blocks;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a. block, assembly utilizing a frictional gripping action which can be produced with the blocks;

Fig. 3 is a section taken approximately on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an elevation of a single plan structure;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of another form of block assembly;

Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5; and

Figs. '7 through 23 are individual perspective views of different forms of block elements.

The block 24 in Fig. '7 is one of the simplest forms of elements and it will be seen that it is elongated and preferably square in cross section. Adjacent the ends of the block are apertures 25 which preferably pass entirely therethrough. The block 26' in Fig. 8 is of the same length as block 24', butfit has a cut-out portion 21 in one end thereof, said cut-out leaving a tongue 28 at the end of the block. This block is provided with vertically disposed apertures 29 and horizontal apertures 30. The apertures 30 are spaced half of the distance between the apertures 29 and are also spaced midway between said apertures 29. The block 3! in Fig. 9 is provided with vertical end apertures similar to the apertures in the block 24 and apertures 29 in block 26. This block, however, is shown with cut-outs at each end from the upper face of the block to provide oppositely extending tongues 32 which amount to a duplication of the tongue 28 on block 26. The block 33 in Fig. 10 is provided with vertical end apertures, and each end is provided with a cut-out. The cut-outs in this block differ from the ones-in block 3| in that they are formed in the upper end portion of one end and the lower end portion of the other end.

Block 34 in Fig. 11 is provided with vertical end apertures as in the blocks above and with an upper cut-out at the left-hand end and a central notch or cut-out 35 midway between the ends of the block and in the upper portion thereof. This block is also shown with a vertically disposed. central aperture 36, said aperture being midway between the end apertures, and the dis-. tance' between the central aperture and either of the end apertures is the same as the distance between the horizontal apertures in the block 26 in Fig. 8. Fig. 12 shows a block 3! having cutoutsv at both upper end portions and an upper. central cut-out, the latter being similar to the cut-out in the preceding described block 34. This block has vertical apertures at either end and one through the center as well as horizontally disposed apertures comparable to and spaced the same as the apertures 30 in block 26. The block 38 in Fig. 13 is provided with upper end cut out portions and a lower centrally disposed cut-. out portion. It also has vertical end apertures and a central vertical aperture as well as horizontal apertures similar to and spaced the same as the horizontal apertures shown in the blocks 26 and 31.

The blocks 39, 40, M and 42 shown in Figs. 14

through 17 respectively comprise half length blocks comparable in structure to blocks 24,25, 3| and 33 in Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10. Block 39"is' a half length block with no cut-outs and with a pair of vertical openings in the ends as in block 24, but the reduced size of the block is such that said vertical openings are spaced half the distance of the openings 25 in block 24. The block 4|) which is half the length of block 26 is provided with a similarly disposed upper end cut-out at one end and a pair of vertical end apertures spaced the same as those in block 39. The block 4| has both upper end portions cut away as does block 3|, and its vertical end apertures are spaced half the distance of those in block 3|. Block 42 is seen to have its left upper end portion and lower right-hand portion provided with a cut out similar to block 33 in Fig. 10, this block also being half the length of the block 33 which it generally simulates.

Fig. 18 shows a roller element 43 having an axial opening therethrough, and this element is adapted to be utilized as a wheel or pulley deand interlocked with dowel pins and blocks so that when the building structure is extended the parts of the base will be tied together. Another reason for forming a composite base is to permit utilization of differently shaped base elements in a structure to provide different structural efiects.

Thus in Fig. 1 it is shown that the upper end portion of the building illustrated is made up of a plurality of differently shaped elements 53, 54, and 55. These elements are adapted to connect by means of horizontal dowel pins 56 with the blocks making up the roof, horizontal apertures L being provided through these elements as viewed pending upon the structure to which it is adapted.

Fig. 19 discloses a smaller cylindrical element having an axial aperture which is adapted to function as a spacer block or the like. The block 45 in Fig. 20 is shown with a tongue portion a, similar to the tongues provided to the cutouts in the above described blocks, and a half round portion 45b, said block being used in a manner to be described below. The block 46 in Fig. 21 is cubical in shape and is provided with three aper-'- tures therethrough which intersect each other at the center of the block. Fig. 22 shows a rounded element 41 having a bore 48 extending only partially therethrough to provide an end cap, and Fig. 23 discloses a cube-shaped block 49 having a bore 50 similar to the bore 48 in the cylindrical end capelement 41.

In Fig. 1 there is shown a partial structure formed with some of the above described units in addition to certain additional units which comprise base members and/or additional structural members to be combined with the blocks above the base. The base 5| shown in this View is provided with a plurality of apertures 52 which are formed in regular lines transversely and longitudinally of said base. These apertures are equally spaced from each other in both directions and this spacing constitutes a distance equal to the distance between the vertical apertures in the half-size blocks of Figs. 14 through 17, and said spaces consequently constitute half the distance between the vertical end apertures of the. blocks shown in Figs. 7 through 13. It should further be noted that the-space from the line of exposed apertures across from the near end of the base member 5| and the end face of said base is equal to the distance from the vertical block apertures and the adjacent sides of said blocks. This particular arrangement of apertures at at least one edge of the base 5| permits the erection of a vertical wall whose outer face is flush with the adjacent edge wall of the base.

In Fig. 1 there is shown a fragment of a second base member 5|a having a row of apertures 52a which are spaced inwardly from the adjacent base edge considerably more than the row of apertures which are shown close to the end of the base member 5|. The row of holes 52a is so related to the full row of holes 52 shown in Fig. 1 that the distance between adjacent holes in the two base members is the same as the distance between adjacent holes of the individual base members.

Iprovide composite base members for two reasons. One of these is that it is possible to add onto building structures from time to time and in doing so the base assembly can be extended in Fig. 1. A series of vertical apertures 51 are also provided to receive vertically disposed dowel pins extending upwardly from the base end through the blocks making up the lower portion of the end wall. These elements 53, 54, and 55 can be utilized independently in other forms of structure such as that shown in Fig. 4.

In Fig. 4 there is shown one of the simple forms of structure which can be formed with the blocks. There is shown a base member 58 which has apertures similar to those shown in base elements 5| and 5| a and from two of which extend vertically disposed dowel pins 59. Spaced laterally from the centrally disposed pins 59 are pairs. of pins 60 and 6|. I firsttake a plurality of blocks 3|, as shown in Fig. 9, and atone side of the structure placeone of the blocks over each of one of the dowel pins 59, 60 and 6|. Upon this block is superposed two more of the blocks 4| and this arrangement is repeated at the other side of the base on the other set of three dowel F pins 59, 60 and BI. As the blocks 3| are placed in position I fit one of the small end blocks 45 over the tongue or stepped portion at the outer end of each of the blocks 3| to provide an ornamental variation in the block arrangement. These blocks 45 are slipped over the oppositely disposed outer and shorter dowel pins 6|. I then place the structural unit 55 over the six dowel pins, this unit being the same as the similarly numbered element in the uppr portion of the building end in Fig. 1. Thus the remainder of the structure is built up by slipping different block shapes over the dowel pins and breaking up the continuity of the block arrangement withtwo of the structural elements 54 and capping the entire structural assembly with the generally triangularly shaped element 53. This is a relatively simple illustration of a structure which can be produced with my invention and it brings out the possibility of starting with-a flat simple ar-. rangement of blocks wherein full length. and half length blocks are used and their vertical aperture spacing coordinated with the differently spaced dowel pins.

The structure shown in Fig. 1 is a building which utilizes in its end walls and portions of its side walls a plurality of the block elements 26. A- doorway is formed by using the elements 3| whose cut away ends interconnect with each other. The blocks 3| it will be seen alsoare. utilized to form window openings in combination: with blocks 26 so that variations of Wall structures can be readily made. The block units 26 and 3| are also utilized to form portions of the roof and at the peak of the roof I use the half blocks 4| illustrated in Fig. 16.

Means is also provided for the building in of partitions and this is made possible by the use of blocks 34 such as illustrated in Fig. 11 and blocks 31 shown in Fig. 12. The central transverse cut-outs in these two block formations are adapted to receive the tongues at one end of a plurality of blocks such as the block 3| in Fig. 9, thus permitting the tying in of the partition blocks with the wall and forming a flush joint.

Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate a combination of blocks and dowel pins which can be used as the basis for tower structures and many other forms of construction wherein a very rigid tied assembly of blocks is desired. There is shown a group of four dowel pins 62 which are first placed in a baseboard such as a board unit or 5|a and are spaced apart distances equal to the spacing between the vertical end apertures of the full length blocks. The bottom layer comprises a pair of blocks 3| which are placed between three adjacent pins 62 to form a pair, one pair of pins lying between said blocks and the other pair lying on the outermost sides of the two blocks. The size of the blocks is such that, as viewed in Fig. 3, the blocks extending across the sheet tend to separate the upper and lower dowel pins. Over the two blocks 3| I place four half size blocks such as the blocks 4| in Fig. 16. These blocks are first placed with a pair having its end cut-outs facing upwardly and lying at opposite sides of the rectangle provided by the four pins 62, said pins being received through the end openings of the block 4|. I then place a parallel pair of blocks 4| in reverse position to the first mentioned pair so that the two pairs interlock over the pins and provide a layer equal to the thickness of one block. When the blocks 4| are slipped oved the pins 62 said pins must naturally be brought slightly together again so that they will register With the apertures in the blocks, and this causes the pins to tightly grip the blocks 3| which were initially placed in position. Fig. 2 shows a second pair of blocks 3| placed over blocks 4| and at right angles to the bottom pair of blocks 3|, and repeated layers in variations of blocks 4| and 3| can be added to the structure. After several layers of blocks have been combined in this manner the resulting structure is tightly held by the pins and the frictional gripping action to which they subject the blocks held between them. This illustration in Figs. 2 and 3 is not intended to represent any particular object, but is shown to illustrate one of the functional adaptations of my units.

Figs. 5 and 6 represent another combination of elements assembled merely to illustrate the flexibility of the units. There is shown a pair of triangular block elements 63 having suitable vertical apertures therethrough and partial horizontal bores 64. Dowel pins 65 are inserted in the bores 64 of one of the blocks 63. A block 38 is slipped over the free ends of the dowel pins 65 with its central transverse cut-out facing inwardly from the triangular block 63. A pair of oppositely disposed half block elements 4| are then slipped on an intermediate dowel pin 66 which extends into the central portion of triangular block 63 through the central aperture in the block 38. As viewed in Fig. 6, the left-hand block element 4| fits into the central transverse cut-out of block 38 and the respective adjacent half block 4| is received in the central transverse cut-out of a second block 38 which is fitted on the dowel pins in opposed relationship to the first mentioned block. This structure is repeated as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 at the right-hand ends of the dowel pins and 66, and between said structures at their upstanding ends is extended a short dowel pin 61. This pin has a pair of cube-shaped elements 46 between which is mounted a small roller element 43. It will be seen from Fig. 6 that the roller 43 has a greater diameter than the thickness of the blocks so that this roller can be used in other structures as a vehicle wheel as well as a common pulley element.

The small roller element 44 shown in Fig. 19 can be used as a pulley or as a spacer element and in other structures it can be used to form a round column, the smoke stack of a ship or the barrel of a cannon, and the end caps 41 and 49 in Figs.

22 and 23 can be used as hub caps and generally as means for fastening the exposed ends of dowel pins. In the case of the end caps it is preferred that they have bores of less diameter than that of the dowel pins so that they will grip the ends of the pins relatively tightly and will not easily slip off.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided a set of blocks which is capable of extremely wide structural variations and assemblies wherein the individual parts are of simple form and have many features in common. Such an arrangement permits a small child to easily pick up the assembly of simple structures while at the same time the blocks have sufficiently different forms embodying the basic principles to permit the construction of relatively intricate built-up forms. For instance the block 42 in Fig. 17 as well as the block 33 in Fig. 10 is frequently used to bring about changes and levels which are only half the height of the full block. Furthermore, block 42 can be used as a shelf support and the like, and it can be conveniently fitted into a wall structure which utilizes blocks such as blocks 34, 31 and 38 with end transverse central cut-outs as well as in the other blocks having end cut-outs. The formation of the blocks from a manufacturing standpoint is relatively simple so that complicated and expensive machinery for their production is not needed.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various parts without departing from the scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

A set of building blocks including a plurality of blocks, at least some of which have spaced apertures therethrough, a base unit having apertures therein spaced in conformity with those in said above mentioned apertured blocks, dowel pins inserted in said base unit apertures and adapted to extend outwardly therefrom, certain of said blocks being of such width as to impart a spreading force to groups of pins when slipped between said pins, and said apertured blocks being adapted to receive sets of said pins to retain them against their tendency to spread whereby a substantially rigid structure of frictionally clamped blocks and pins can be formed.

EVAN L. NELSON 

